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title: Command Box: Basic Navigation
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So what does CommandBox do and why are we using a command line tool when we have windows based programs so readily available? The quick answer is that it turns out that developers type a lot and frequently they have to run programs and tasks where the options are both numerous and different each time they run them. Therefore, it is just plain faster to not have to grab a mouse, change the options and then run the task. It's easier to just type them all. With a little practice, this will be much less foreign of a concept and you'll find the workflow and tools you like using the most. Let's walk through some simple activities.

## Basic folder navigation

1. Open the Sites folder with whatever tool you normally use to browse the folders on your computer (Windows explorer, the Finder, etc) and put it side by side with CommandBox so you can see both of them. If this doesnâ€™t work you can flip back and forth between the two windows.
2. In Command Box type â€œLSâ€ and press enter. I used caps there to avoid confusion between an L and a I but lower case is fine. You should see the same list of files and folders in CommandBox as you so in your other tool. LS stands for â€œlistâ€
3. In CommandBox, type â€œ`mkdir myNewExpFolder`â€. You should see a new folder appear in the other window. MKDIR stands for â€œMake Directoryâ€.
4. This also works in reverse. Make a new folder in your GUI and when you type â€œlsâ€ in CommandBox, you should see the same folder. You are looking in the same folder just using two different tools to do so.
5. In CommandBox, type â€œtouch newFile.txtâ€. You created a new file called newFile.txt in that folder.
6. In CommandBox, type â€œcd MyNewExpFolderâ€ and press enter. The prompt will change to say MyNewExpFolder. You are now â€œinâ€ the folder MyNewExpFolder and any command you run will occur in that folder. To go â€œupâ€ a level, type â€œcd ..â€. CD stands for â€œchange directoryâ€.




